LIN DAN
Lin Dan is a dominant Chinese badminton player of Hakka ancestry. He has been nicknamed "Super Dan" by his adoring mainland fans. He is a four-time world champion, five time All England champion and the reigning Olympic champion.
Widely considered to be the greatest badminton player of all time, by the age of 28 Lin had completed the "Super Grand Slam", having won all nine major titles in world badminton: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Super Series Masters Finals, All England Open, Asian Games, and Asia Championships, becoming the first and only player to achieve this feat. He has been nicknamed "Super Dan" by his fans.
In his early years, Lin was encouraged to learn to play piano by his parents, but chose to play badminton at the age of five. He joined the sports troop of the People's Liberation Army at the age of 13 and has been part of China's national badminton team since 2001 when he was 18.
On April 10, 2008, he created controversy when he struck coach Ji Xinpeng in front of his teammates and reporters during the warm-up tournament ahead of the Thomas Cup. The incident was reportedly triggered by Lin being unhappy with Ji's starting lineup for the tournament.
Lin has been in a romantic relationship with Xie Xingfang, herself a former world champion badminton player, since 2003. They were quietly married on December 13, 2010 in Haizhu, Guangzhou. Xie initially denied but later admitted the news when reporters got the evidence. Lin reacted angrily towards the news and insisted that it was a personal matter between him and Xie.